On Fast Food Marketing

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In the United States there has been an expanding issue of obesity since the 1990's; and only until now with the growing trend of gym memberships for personal fitness has the epidemic been mitigated. The wide availability of fast food and second kitchens has led to high obesity rates. However, the availability is only the product of intense consumer demands. Fast food manufacturers would only supply ridiculously unhealthy food if and only if the consumers had a high demand for such garbage. As was seen in the 1920's when alcohol was banned in the United States due to violence arising from alcoholics – the people that wanted alcohol still found ways to attain alcohol through the black market, the underground liquor market led my Al Capone. People are born free and thus behave free, a person's desires are ultimately innate, and fast food manufacturers only attempt to satisfy the implacable desire for fast food – not force the consumer into eating fast food or even buying it. Fast food manufacturers only sell the food, not shove it down people's throats; thus, fast-food chains and food manufacturers should bear no blame for the country's weight problem. There is much controversy however, the preface to “Does Advertising Exploit Children?” predicts that “banning fast-food commercials could trim down the number of overweight American children by 18 percent” (“Preface to...”). This statistic is only a prediction, and 18 percent does not sound promising. There is however a promising solution that requires Governmental assist; the article “We need a Fat Tax” advises that “The Government should implement a graduated tax system on foods high in fat to counteract the obesity epidemic” (Karlin). The suggestion is based on the premise that the ...

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... 28 Mar. 2011.

Karlin, Anatoly. “We Need a Fat Tax” Da Russophile, April 19, 2008. How Should Obesity be Treated? Ed. Stefan Kiesbye. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2009. At Issue. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 26 Mar. 2011.

McClain, Sheila. “Fitness Culture: A Growing Trend in America” Rise B. Axelrod, and Charles R. Cooper. The St. Martin's Guide to Writing. 9th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. Print. 452-455.

Mello, Michelle M., Eric B. Rimm, and David M. Studdert. “The McLawsuit: The Fast-Food Industry And Legal Accountability For Obesity” Health Affairs 22.6 (2003). The People to People Health Foundation, Inc. EBSCO. Web. 28 Mar. 2011.

“Preface to 'Does Advertising Exploit Children?'.” Advertising. Ed. Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Gale Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 26 Mar. 2011.

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